“I can only fight so many guys before I move into the top 15 and top 10. I’ve only been training in MMA a little over two years, so, is that really the best move for me soon? Do I want to be fighting a top 15 in the world on two years of experience, or do I want to take control while I can, slow it down, learn, develop and get better? I’m still a prospect, so these type of things that are things that are on my mind. I have goals and a plan, but there’s also a better way to go about it that I’m trying to be considerate of and manage.”
He told Rogan he originally wanted to fight at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami, which is close to his training home of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla. But then the option of competing at the historic UFC 300 on April 13 materialized, and Nickal couldn’t pass on the opportunity.
“No opponent yet, but I’m going to fight at UFC 300,” Nickal said. “I’m fired up. That’s going to be fun. My goal for this next fight is whoever they give me. I’m still on my first contract, so I kind of want to fight this out and then see as it goes. I have two left, so it was four. I would like to fight this fight, then my next fight, I would like to get somebody right outside the rankings, right there in the mix. Ideally that would be like July and then – I’ll at least get one more or maybe two next year. Then after that I would obviously like to fight a ranked guy. So hopefully a ranked guy in my third fight of next year.”
If Nickal careful career planning plays out, he expects to be trouble for every 185-pound name on the UFC roster. His ultimate goal is to claim that UFC belt and be an all-time great, but he want to maximize the path there.
“There’s a lot of good guys, but I like where I’m at,” Nickal said. “I feel like I’m a tough matchup for any of these guys, and they all want to fight me now, because I’m the worst that I’ll be. You’ll hear some of these guys talk about me and they want to fight me now and I’m like, ‘That’s smart, because where I’m at right now is not where I’m going to be where I’m at in six months, where I’m going to be at in a year.'”
Source:
https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/12/bo-nickal-says-fighting-ufc-300-targets-ranked-opponent-2024
